THE Domain Conference continued its 2016 run at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Tuesday (September 13) with a second full day of business that followed the very productive day attendees enjoyed on Monday. 

Above: Fellow Australians David Warmuz (Above.com/Trellian) and Michael Gilmour (ParkLogic.com) gave attendees an inside look at the current state of Domain Monetization and Domain Tools.

Below: After a session that gave attendees a chance to deliver two-minute elevator pitches, 101Domain.com's Joe Alagna took the stage to explain his Ten Percent Rule for Domain Names in Advertising. Joe says, "If you allocate 10% of your advertising budget towards memorable and/or traffic-producing domain names, you will achieve 10 times the results for your advertising."

The Tuesday luncheon was the busiest part of the day as it included my annual State of The Industry report on the latest domain sales trends, a Fireside Chat that I conducted with Keynote Speaker Lori Anne Wardi and the presentation of TDC's 2016 Domain Industry Awards.

Above: DNJournal Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson giving his annual State of The Industry update at THE Domain Conference Tuesday (September 13, 2016).

Below: Ron then welcomed Keynote Speaker Lori Anne Wardi to the stage for a Fireside Chat in which the Neustar Vice President detailed her remarkable rise in the domain industry. Lori Anne co-founded .CO Internet with Juan Diego Calle and helped build the administrator of  the .CO domain extension from a startup into a highly successful enterprise that commanded $109 million in a sale to Neustar (who wisely kept Lori Anne on their team as a Neustar executive). 

The luncheon closed with the announcement of this year's Domain Industry Award winners, selected in balloting open to all domain industry participants. The envelopes please!

Above: TDC Co-Founders Howard & Barbara Neu presented the Developer of the Year Award to Michael Cyger of DomainSherpa.com and DNAcademy.com. The next award, Blogger of the Year went to Elliot Silver of DomainInvesting.com. Though Elliot was at the conference he was not at the luncheon to pick up the award, taking that time to visit an ill fried instead - just the kind of thing people who know Elliot would expect him to do.

Below: The Registry of the Year Award went to .CLUB. CEO Colin Campbell led his team on stage to accept the honor. CMO Jeff Sass, who had been at the conference, was missing only because he had had to fly off to Germany to represent .CLUB at the massive DMEXCO event in Cologne.

Above: The Registrar of the Year Award went to GoDaddy.com and Aftermarket Product Manager Joe Styler was there to accept the honor. GoDaddy also played a role in Michael Berkens winning the Investor of the Year Award. Michael, who could not be at the conference, sold his portfolio to GoDaddy earlier this year for an estimated $30-$35 million.

Below: It was a very good day for Sedo as they took home two big awards. Their Senior Broker Dave Evanson, at left below, won the prestigious Broker of the Year Award and Sedo also won the Company of the Year Award, accepted by Business Development VP Brad Lemire at right below.

Above: DNJournal.com Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson, seen here with his wife Diana, received the Goodwill Ambassador of the Year Award - an honor that originated at the pioneering T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Conference in memory of Michael & Judi Berkens' beloved dog, Bandit Berkens. If you were among the hundreds of conference attendees who met Bandit over the years, you know why a goodwill award was established to honor him and there is no award I would rather have (as a side note Diana and I are dog lovers who, like Michael and Judi, had a Yorkie who passed and now have another).

Below: The final presentation went to two new members elected to the Domain Industry Hall of Fame - Garry Chernoff and Nat Cohen (Telepathy.com).  Nat is seen here with his award, surrounded by six colleagues who were elected in previous years. Left to right are Monte Cahn, Dr. Christopher Hartnett, Nat, Ron Jackson, Michael Cyger, Howard Neu and Chad Folkening. Garry could not be at the conference but, like Nat, the honor for him was long overdue. In addition to being among the most successful, both men are among the nicest people in this business and neither seeks the spotlight. As a result newcomers may not know as much about Garry as they should. Suffice it to say that Frank Schilling cites Garry as his mentor and that should tell you all you need to know. Nat and Garry are among the few true pioneers of this entire industry.

Above: Though the awards had all been handed out the most emotional moment of the day (and maybe of conference history) was yet to happen. Before concluding the luncheon Howard Neu called his wife and partner Barbara to the stage and - with tears in his eyes - declared this conference never would have existed without Barbara and her constant support. His heartfelt thank you brought everyone in the room to their feet for a standing ovation, compelling Barbara to pull out her iPhone to record a moment she (and the rest of us who saw it) will never forget (we told Barbara's life story in the current DNJournal Cover Story).

Below: Here is what Barbara saw from the stage - one of her actual iPhone photos.

Below: The GMO Registry, operators of new gTLD .Shop, sponsored the luncheon where we also had an opportunity to hear CEO Hiroya Tsukahara speak. Hiroya also held court at the TLD's booth in the Exhibit Hall where we snapped this shot on our way back to the conference room for the Tuesday afternoon sessions.

Above: At another booth we caught up with Jodi Chamberlain and Joe Casale at the <header_tag> table. <header_tag> is an innovative new website advertising platform that you can learn more about at headertag.com. 

Below:  The afternoon business session began with a panel discussion - Brokers: Do We Really Need Them? that featured (left to right) moderator Braden Pollock, Larry Fischer (GerYourDomain.com) - Dave Evanson (Sedo), George Hong (Guta.com) and Tessa Holcomb (Igloo.com). In short, the answer to the session title is Yes! - we do need them!

Above: Guta.com's George Hong stayed over for the next session - American Market vs. China Market: What Dies the Future Hold in Store?. He was joined by two other widely known experts on both markets - at left, Michele Van Tilborg (.CLUB) and Pinky Brand (Focus Nua Ltd).

Below: Next up attendees got an ICANN Update from (left to right) ICA Legal Counsel Phil Corwin, Rolf Larsen (Founder & CEO, .Global) and Angie Graves (WEB Group Inc.)  After this, in the final business session of the show, Chris DeRose gave a talk on Digital Assets like bitcoins. 

Above: In a final pass through the Exhibit Hall I stopped by the .GDN Registry booth to meet executives from the Dubai based new gTLD registry, (left to right) Head of Registry Muhammad Kausar Saleem, Hassan Piracha and Anthony Burton. .GDN is a generic extension that stands for Global Domain Name.

Below: With the conference's Farewell Breakfast still to come Wednesday morning, many attendees spent Tuesday evening doing some informal networking at the Hyatt Regency's Pier 66 lobby bar and lounge. We would spend some time there too, but first we had a very special event to attend at 7pm - TDC Co-Founder Ray Dillman Neu's graduation from the Broward College Police Academy and appointment as an officer with the Broward County Sheriff's Department. Witnessing that with the Neu family, including Howard, Barbara and Ray's grandmother Carmella was a truly unforgettable occasion. Over the past 12 years Diana and I have watched Ray grow from an 18-year-old college basketball player (who helped out alongside them at all of the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conferences) to the universally admired man he is today. Ray, who was already  envisioning a law enforcement career when we met him as a  teenager, will be a great asset to his department and the Broward County community where the Neus live.

Tomorrow I will have one final post from THE Domain Conference 2016 for you - Photos & Highlights from the well-attended Farewell Breakfast Wednesday morning at the top of  the Pier 66 Hotel!

After a special Startup Saturday event and the Opening Night Party Sunday night, THE Domain Conference 2016 (TDC) got down to business Monday (September 12) at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Above & below: In the first business session at THE Domain Conference 2016 Monday morning (Sept. 12), an expert panel discussed How to Weed Good Names and Extensions From the Bad. Those are the dais included (left to right): Moderator Michael Cyger (DomainSherpa.com), Joe Styler (GoDaddy.com), Crews Gore (InterNetX.com), Daniel Schindler (Donuts.domains), Monte Cahn (RightOfTheDot.com) and Jeff Sass (.CLUB). Before the session began Broward County Mayor Martin Kiar welcomed attendees from around the world to Fort Lauderdale.

Above: Next up Brett Napoli (AmbitionInsight.com) delivered a well-received presentation The Big Picture - How to Turn a Domain Name Into a Business, a popular topic that Brett had also detailed in depth while helping lead TDC's Startup Saturday event for local entrepreneurs.

Above & Below: During the Verisign-sponsored noon luncheon Monday, Sedo.com CEO Tobias Flaitz came over from company headquarters in Cologne, Germany to deliver TDC's first Keynote Address - one that encouraged industry collaborations and partnerships to benefit all. Tobias made the trip even though he knew he would have to rush back to Germany for one of Sedo's biggest annual events - today's opening of the giant DMEXCO show that will draw tens of thousands of digital marketing professionals to Cologne.

Above: On the way back to the main conference room we paused in the Exhibit Hall (located immediately outside the conference hall) to check out some of the sponsor's booths. Attendees love to pick up "swag" - company T-Shirts, pens,  playing cards - you name it - anything with the company logo on it - and the innovative marketers at .CLUB offered a wide array of it. (Left to right): Angela (.CLUB) welcomes booth visitors Eddie & Barbara Sixto.

Below: Coffee.Club's free coffee and coffee cake was also a very popular draw in the Exhibit Hall - all provided by company founder Bill McClure who was on hand for the show.

Above: Payoneer.com's Brandon Abbey and Matthew Watts had a prime position right next to the Conference Room entry doors. Brandon, the former President at Escrow.com, is helping global payments giant Payoneer expand their operations in the domain space.

Above: The afternoon session at TDC Monday began with an exploration of How Will .Brands Affect the Market? The panelists included Amazon.com's Stacey King, RightOfTheDot.com's Monte Cahn (both seen above), Jebidiah Burnett (Rightside.co) and Daniel Schindler (Donuts.domains) 

Below: Next up, leading industry attorneys took the stage to discuss UDRP & Legal Issues. The distinguished panelists included Canada's Zak Muscovitch (DNAttorney.com), seen here, attorney/author Gerald Levine from New York City, Phil Corwin (Virtual Law LLC and ICA Legal Counsel) and Stevan Lieberman (Greenberg & Lieberman LLC).

Above: After the attorney's session we visited the Escrow.Domains booth - a company founded by Stevan Lieberman (left) who was featured on the legal panel discussion. Shannon Gregory helped Stevan introduce Escrow.Domain services to attendees.

Below: Industry veterans (left to right) Chad Folkening (ECorp.com), Mark Daniel (DomainHoldings.com) and Dr. Chris Hartnett were among the attendees from around the world at TDC 2016

Above & below: The final session of the day was devoted to fun and games thanks to a Larry Fischer creation - Domain or Not a Domain? It was a live quiz show in which three two-person teams had to guess whether a domain name Larry announced was actually registered or not registered. It is a lot tougher to guess right than you might think! Above you see the three teams - Alan Shiflett (GoDaddy) and Andee Hill (Donuts.domains), then Sevan Derderian (Uniregistry) and Michael Cyger (Domain Sherpa), followed by Braden Pollock (LegalBandMarketng.com) and Tessa Holcomb (Igloo.com). Larry Fischer sits on the stage (waiting to pounce) while TDC Co-Founder  Howard Neu tells everyone how the game works.

In the end, Braden & Tessa (below) eked out a come from behind win to pick up a prize from Larry - a cocktail recipe book that no doubt came in handy at the Igloo.com Suite Party Monday night. In a second round of the game the entire audience participated where the last man standing - having gotten every question right - was Steven Kaziyev of NewYorkMedia.com. Steven won a ticket to the 2017 edition of THE Domain Conference for his expertise!

Above: With the business day out of the way, many attendees gathered in the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Lounge or scattered around town to corporate client appreciation functions like a Donuts.domains dinner just down the street at Fort Lauderdale's outstanding Market 17 restaurant. Here Donuts Co-Founder and EVP Dan Schindler uses a chair as a makeshift stage to welcome his guests.

Below: (left to right) Dan Schindler (Donuts), Jebidiah Burnett (Rightside.co) and Andee Hill (Donuts) at the Donuts.domains client appreciation dinner.

Above: Later Monday night it was time for Igloo.com's traditional open to all Suite Party. Igloo Co-Founder Gregg McNair started the function and while Gregg could not attend this year, his fellow Igloo Co-Founder Tessa Holcomb (with guest Pinky Brand here) picked up the flag and, with her team, carried it into the wee hours of the night.

Below: Some of the first arrivers at the Igloo.com party (left to right in front): Tessa Holcomb, Larry Fischer, Kamila Sekiewicz, Michael Cyger and Mark Levine. Magically elevated behind them are Eddie Sixto and Steven Kaziyev.

As I write this, the Tuesday business day has also concluded and we are now getting ready for this morning's closing event - another tradition - the Farewell Breakfast. Tuesday (day and night) was so busy I haven't had a chance to even get through the photos yet and we will be heading back to Tampa right after breakfast, so I will have the Tuesday Photos & Highlights, as well as those from the Farewell Breakfast, in my next post that will come out Thursday when I will be back home and in a position to put it all together for you.

The 2016 edition of THE Domain Conference (TDC) officially got underway Sunday night (September 11) at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The day began with another round of the pre-show poolside cabana networking that began Saturday when the first early birds arrived. It ended late last night with the official Opening Night Cocktail Party in the revolving Pier Top room that caps the Pier 66 Hotel.

As you can see from these photos the show venue provided a spectacular tropical setting for the event that debuted last year under the direction of Co-Founders Howard Neu, Barbara Neu and Ray Dillman Neu. 

At right: The entrance to TDC's private poolside cabana networking area.

Below: TDC attendees enjoying a beautiful Florida day Sunday at TDC cabanas (Photos above and below courtesy of Barbara Neu).

Above & below: The Verisign cabana, one of several sponsor cabanas that ringed the pool, won the award for best booth display. Cabana visitor David Warmuz (Above.com), seated at left, dropped in to see Verisign Director of Strategic Account Management Tim Switzer (seated at right) and Verisign Senior Product Manager Duane Bailey (standing).

Above: After dark it was time for TDC's official kickoff - the traditional Opening Night Cocktail Party. Among the first to arrive were (left to right) Kaitlyn O'Connor, TDC Co-Founder Barbara Neu, Steven Kaziyev (NewYorkMedia.com) and TDC Co-Founder Ray Dillman Neu (Ray and Kaitlyn are engaged and planning an April wedding)!

Below: The party was held in the revolving meeting room that sit on top of the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel, 17 floors up, giving guests a spectacular 360-degree view of the Fort Lauderdale area. While the view was incredible attendees were more focused on catching up with each other!

Above: TDC Co-Founder Howard Neu with Kamila Sekiewicz (ICA Operations Manager) and, at right, Andee Hill (Donuts Inc.). Kamila and Andee have played instrumental roles in helping the Internet Commere Association grow and fulfill its mission to protect the interests of domain investors and developers.

Below: The opening night party had two purposes - to kick off the conference and to also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ICA!

Above: ICA Legal Counsel Phil Corwin (with Board Member Nat Cohen behind him) tells the audience about the ICA's 10-year history of protecting the rights of domain industry investors and developers and thanks them for their support of the organization.

Below: ICA members in attendance gathered for a group photo after Phil's talk.

Above: After celebrating the ICA's continued growth and success, attendees continued to enjoy the opening night of THE Domain Conference. Here is a group of domain guys from around the globe -  (left to right) David Warmuz (Australia), Ron Jackson (USA), European trio Frederick Schiwek, Axel Kaltz and Jochen Kieler, and Mark Thomas (USA).

Below: Still, as always, Dr. Chris Hartnett is the coolest guy in the room! (photo from Barbara Neu)

Above: (L to R) Barbara Neu, Ilze Kaulins-Plaskacz (ExcellentDomains.ca) and Diana Jackson say goodbye as a delightful opening night at the TDC comes to an end. 

Now it's on to business with two full days of keynotes speakers, panel discussions and non-stop networking today and tomorrow, followed by Wednesday morning's Farewell Breakfast. I'll have all of the photos and highlights from Monday's first day of business in my next post from Fort Lauderdale. 

The 2016 edition of THE Domain Conference (TDC) doesn't officially begin until the traditional Welcome Party tonight (Sunday, September 11) but there was still plenty of activity at the show venue - the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida - on Saturday. Most of that was due to the addition of a new standalone event called Startup Saturday (SS), the brainchild of TDC Co-Founder Ray Dillman Neu.

SS was designed for local entrepreneurs seeking advice on how to launch or grow a new business. Though domains were not the primary focus of SS, many of the speakers were successful, well-known people from our world. 

Above: Ray Dillman Neu, Co-Founder of THE Domain Conference and originator of TDC's Startup Saturday, welcomed attendees to the first SS event at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale September 10, 2016. Here he is introducing FashionMetric.com Co-Founder Morgan Linton who delivered the first presentation of the day via Skype. Morgan covered the differences between a startup and a small business. 

Above: Next up AmbitionInsight.com Founder Brett Napoli told the audience How to Turn a Domain Name Into a Business.

Below: South Florida entrepreneur Stuart Maloff absorbing information at Startup Saturday.

Above & below: In the final session before a lunch break, .CLUB CEO Colin Campbell (standing) joined (seated left to right in the photo above) moderator Jeff Sass (.CLUB), Barry Kates and George Verdugo (VisitSpace.com) to deliver one of the best panel discussions I've sent at any conference anywhere. In a session titled Lessons From the Edge the quartet took on a topic most entrepreneurs prefer not to talk about - failure. The speakers detailed overwhelming challenges that resulted in a previous enterprise of theirs coming close to failure or failing, what they learned from that setback and how those lessons helped them rebound and realize their dreams. Their honesty was refreshing and their advice inspirational. Entrepreneurs need to know there is a good chance you are going to get knocked down but you can get back up again armed with valuable, albeit painful, experience that will make you better equipped to succeed than you were before.

Startup Saturday concluded with three afternoon sessions featuring individual presentations from Victor Pitts, Evan Oder and Jeff Sass (above). Jeff detailed How .CLUB And Other New Domains Are A Smarter Branding Bet For Startups & Entrepreneurs Worldwide. Before Jeff's closing talk Victor offered Domain Name Branding and Purchasing Tips and Evan provided advice on Picking the Best Business Partner.

Above: While Startup Saturday was going on inside, Cabana Networking was open at TDC's private pool area at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel. That's where we snapped this shot of (left to right) Mike Morrison (Rook Media), TDC Co-Founder Barbara Neu, and recently retired police officer turned domain investor Jim Garbutt.

Below: An overhead view of the Cabana Networking area taken from our 13th floor balcony. The sponsor's cabanas ring the private TDC pool at left. There are also tables set out with full umbrellas to shield guests from Florida's intense summer sun. Attendees can freely move between the cabanas and the indoor Neustar Lounge for free drinks and snacks in air conditioned comfort (the Lounge is located in Windows on the Green a few steps away on the same level).

Above: A ground level view of the entrance to TDC's poolside Cabana Networking area. With most conference attendees arriving today this will be the central outdoor gathering point with the adjacent Neustar Lounge offering a convenient indoor retreat. 

Above: Saturday night gave TDC guests a chance to explore Fort Lauderdale, check out a local restaurant or attend an off-site corporate party. .CLUB CEO Colin Campbell hosted one of the latter at his lovely home on the Intracoastal Waterway, just a few miles upstream from the Pier 66 Hotel. Here Colin gives Diana Jackson a look inside his new Tesla X - a state of the art all-electric self-driving car. The driver can take over when necessary but Colin said the car did 90% of the driving on its own when he had taken it to the hotel earlier in the day. 

Above: A view of the Intracoastal Waterway from Colin's rear deck a little before sunset and the arrival of several dozen more guests for a party hosted by the .CLUB CEO, his lovely wife and their three King Charles Spaniels!

Below: .CLUB guests enjoying a beautiful Florida night (and a lot of talk about domains!) at last night's party at the Campbell home in Fort Lauderdale.

After two days of pre-conference activities THE Domain Conference gets into full swing with tonight's 7pm Welcome Party in the revolving Pier Top above the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel. Two big business days will follow Monday and Tuesday (you can check out the full agenda here) before the 2016 show closes Wednesday morning, September 14, with the traditional Farewell Breakfast (sponsored this year by MediaBreakaway.com CEO Scott Richter).

I'll have all of the Sunday photos & highlights for your in my next post from Fort Lauderdale Monday morning. 

On Friday we will be on our way to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to join over 200 other domain industry investors, brokers, developers and service providers for the 2016 edition of THE Domain Conference (TDC) that runs at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel Saturday through 

Wednesday (September 10-14). Several TDC attendees will be away from home a good bit longer than that though. That's because after TDC closes some will head across the Pacific Ocean for this year's Domainfest Asia conference that gets underway in Hong Kong just five days after TDC ends. 

The Hong Kong event, under the [email protected] banner, will be held at the Cyberport business park September 19-22 in the follow up to a successful debut show in Macau last year. It represents a merging of two separate entities. In 2014 

DotAsia Organisation founded IoN Asia (IoN standing for ‘Internet of Names’ was started as a domain industry publication, dedicated to all things domains, with a focus on Asia. However, this year, together with DOMAINfest, IoN launches the four-day DOMAINfest @ IoN.Asia conference that will connect Asian and Western domain markets through informative panels and business networking sessions.

The joint effort will make this year's show considerably larger with more than 200 attendees, over 40 speakers and more than 30 companies sponsoring the conference. The event will be hosted by hosted by industry leaders  Jothan Frakes (Co-Founder of DOMAINfest and NamesCon), Edmon Chung, (CEO of DotAsia and Simon Cousins (CEO at Allegravita and a renowned expert on the Chinese domain market.

The Domainfest Asia speakers list shows an impressive roster that includes at least four experts that will also be speaking at THE Domain Conference - Michael Gilmour (ParkLogic.com), Jeff Sass (.CLUB), Braden Pollock (LegalBrandMarketing.com) and Joe Styler (GoDaddy). Domainfest Asia  highlights will also include four separate domain auctions conducted by China's leading auction houses and a special .shop auction.

The September twin bill of TDC and [email protected] will make this an especially exciting and productive month for the industry on both sides of the Pacific!

The Internet Commerce Association (ICA), the Washington, DC based non-profit trade organization that represents domain name investors, website developers and related companies, had some good news to share today. The ICA, who is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, announced that Afternic, the premium domain marketplace giant owned by GoDaddy, has joined the ICA at the Gold membership level.

After two days of pre-show Cabana Networking next Saturday and Sunday (September 10-11) and a special new standalone Startup Saturday event on the 10th, the 2016 edition of THE Domain Conference (TDC) will officially get underway a week from tonight, Sunday, September 11, with the traditional Welcome Cocktail Party at 7pm. That event will be held in the revolving Pier Top lounge at the top of the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where THE Domain Conference returns after making its debut there last year. 

In recent weeks I've written several articles (the most recent one here) about what conference Co-Founders Howard Neu, Barbara Neu and Ray Dillman Neu have in store for attendees this year. Of course, the networking opportunities are the main reason most people

go to conferences where they get a chance to meet fellow domain investors and developers to share ideas that can significantly boost their business. Though that side of it usually gets the most attention, it is just half of the story.

Equally important is the opportunity to meet many of the industry's leading service providers in person - not only giving you a first hand look at what they have to offer but also to build personal connections with them that will help you get the most out of your relationship and quickly solve any problems that may arise while using services that are critical to running a successful domain business. 

You won't have any problem finding those service providers at THE Domain Conference. They will have booths set up in the Exhibit Area immediately outside the conference room - making it easy to zero in on the ones you are interested in at any time during the show's two business days - Monday and Tuesday, September 12 & 13 (the conference closes with a Farewell Breakfast on Wednesday morning, September 14).

Above: Attendees at last year's inaugural edition of THE Domain Conference gather in the Exhibit Area to meet new friends, catch up with old ones and visit the Sponsor Booths where some of the industry's leading service providers were on hand to answer questions and show how they can help you grow you business. More than two dozen companies will be set up there this year.

Above & Below: In addition to meeting others, the Exhibit Area is the place to grab a free hot cup of delicious coffee provided by sponsor Coffee.Club and pick up a tasty dessert or two to go along with it. 

Above: Attendees visit the booth of 101Domain.com at last year's show to pick up some swag and find out more about what the popular registrar has to offer. 101Domain.com will be back for this year's show as well.

Below: .CLUB will also return as a sponsor at THE Domain Conference 2016. In this shot from last year's show, .CLUB's David Herman (center) gives attendees Craig Pratka (left) and Reidar Rytter-Fjoeren (who came in from Norway) a look at what is happening with the successful new gTLD registry operator.

Above: Aaron Kvitek, Senior VP for Strategic Marketing at Above.com/Trellian  chats with an attendee at last year's conference. Above.com/Trellian will be sponsoring again this year. 

Several of these exhibitors are also sponsoring specific events during the show. The GMO Registry (.Shop) is sponsoring Lori Anne Wardi's Keynote, Ron Jackson's State of the Industry report and the 2016 Awards Luncheon and Verisgn is sponsoring the Tobias Flaitz Keynote Luncheon.

The Internet Commerce Association (ICA) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary by co-sponsoring the Welcome Party Sunday evening, alongside DomainSponsor (the ICA held their first  meeting at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. 10 years ago).  Also, for the first time TDC using the Windows on the Green area right below the lobby for the Neustar Networking Lounge on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 11-13) with coffee, drinks and snacks throughout the days. 

We will, of course, be at THE Domain Conference to cover it all for you with daily Photos and Highlights from Fort Lauderdale in this column and, if you are making the trip to Florida, I am looking forward to seeing you there!

Australia was first connected to the Internet in 1986 - a time when Crocodile Dundee was a big hit at the box office and Bob Hawke was the Prime Minister. That's when the country's official top level domain - .au - was first deployed,  giving Aussies their own unique online identity and - more than 3 million .au domain name registrations later - they've never looked back. 

The earliest adopters of the .au domain namespace included iconic local brands like St. George Bank, LJ Hooker, Wattyl and the Sydney Opera House. 

Image courtesy of AustraliaDomainNames.com.au

He pointed to Innovative changes such as the introduction of one-to-five year terms and direct .au registrations that give Australians a greater opportunity to get online by registering domain names in formats like yourname.au and businessname.au.

Kinderis added, "This is not the f inishing line and it is vital that we protect this national asset and recognize the investment made in the .au domain namespace over the 30-year course, while positioning for success for the next 30 years and beyond. The .au domain namespace is indeed worth celebrating, so congratulations to each and every online Australian who chooses to represent themselves and their businesses online with a .au domain name."